Black paint on fiberglass

[all-world1]

In trying to plan paint schemes ahead of time in order to get frame and suspension pieces powdercoated as I go, a question came up regarding painting the fiberglass body black. Does anyone know if the body shape gets wonkey when the sun heats up the black-colored fiberglass on a hot day? Does this affect bodies with doors more than the one piece body?

 

[donsrods]

I sure hope not! Mine hasn't sat out in the hot sun much except for a few car shows, but no problems so far.

Don

 

[RPM]

I see bodies but it ain't of no T Bucket.....

 

[all-world1]

Yup, too bad you can't order a couple of those from Speedway

 

[SLR_65]

From Gibbon Fiberglass's info page:

We recommend that your final finish be a light color if possible. Fiberglass cures to the highest temperature it is exposed to. A thorough sunlight cure on our un-sanded product usually proves to be sufficient. Obviously, if your final color is dark, the gloss finish of your paint job will absorb more heat than the gel-coat. For this reason, we stress a thorough cure procedure. If you are using a dark color, cooking the product in a baking paint booth may be necessary in addition to the sunlight cure. If you paint your fiberglass body or parts without cooking them, a post cure could happen. This is when the texture of the fiberglass strands print through to the outside finish. It can be sanded and polished out if you have sufficient amounts of finish paint and clear. Cure the painted body and parts again in the sunlight before sanding and polishing.

 

[donsrods]

Yeah, they kept pestering me and pestering me, so finally I gave in and let the poor kid sit in my car for a little while. You know how it is, sometimes you have to be nice to youngsters. She even had the nerve to put her bare foot up on my dash! I haven't washed her footprint off yet......don't think I ever will. :lol::lol::lol:

Don

 

[all-world1]

Thanks for that info SLR65....leaves a lot to think about, especially with curing the paint if I decide to go with the black.

 

[all-world1]

Yeah, they kept pestering me and pestering me, so finally I gave in and let the poor kid sit in my car for a little while. You know how it is, sometimes you have to be nice to youngsters. She even had the nerve to put her bare foot up on my dash! I haven't washed her footprint off yet......don't think I ever will. :lol::lol::lol:

Don

At least it was only bare feet. A buddy of mine had his eyeglasses "washed" at a strip joint, tried cleaning them after but wasn't too successful. lol

 

[donsrods]

If you think about it, there are a lot of black Corvettes running around, plus I have seen tons of black '32 Fords (fiberglass) and others too. I don't think it is really a problem.

Don

 

[SLR_65]

Another interesting read on fiberglass body prep:

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/car_paint_fiberglass_preparation/index.html

 

[all-world1]

That's true about the vettes and roadsters....I just thought that because the bucket body from the supplier doesn't have a lot of structural integrity, the sun may have more of an effect

 

[SLR_65]

From an article on Rod and Custom Magazine's site (I tried to post a link but the message isn't showing up?)

How To On Good Fiberglass Prep
The Starting Point For Awesome Paint
By Drew Hardin

How long should you cure the body? The longer the better, was the consensus among the experts we spoke with. The minimum time mentioned was 48 hours, while others said it should cure for weeks, maybe even months, especially if the car will be finished in black or another dark color. Since dark colors absorb heat, you dont want the heat to bring more bubbles out of the resin, or cause the panels to warp or shrink, after the paint is on.

If you look around you'll find many more references to dark colors possibly causing problems on fiberglass. If you properly cure it out it's probably not an issue, but it may be hard for the average backyard hobbyist to properly cure it out - especially if it's going to be a driver that sees the light of day often rather than sitting in a garage.

I would like a door in mine and I really do wonder about warpage, especially since I'll probably be using a Speedway body since they are so close to me (their bodies are made with a chopper gun instead of being hand laid).

TTYL,

Steve

 

[SLR_65]

I'll try the link again in case you want to see the whole article:
http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/car_paint_fiberglass_preparation/index.html

 

[Youngster]

Don...If I ever get back to Florida, would you take me to the beach with you, PLEASE?

Ron

 

[Youngster]

Steve ...One good thing about the Speedway body is the gel coat is white. I remember hearing some time ago that white and gray bodies don't have the warpage problems that black gel coats do. You still want to cure though. I set the body on a good flat sheet of 3/4" plywood with 2 2X4's where the frame will be. Then shim the body so it is 3" from the top of the rails to the bottom of the body and glass the floor in. Before tabbing the floor, I fill any voids between the body and the floor with Duraglass. Once the floor is in, I let it sit in direct sun light for 4 or 5 days. Then glass the tack rails and ribs to the body. then it's another 4 or 5 days in the sun. That''s all I do with the body 'til the final assembly and body work.

Ron

 

[all-world1]

Good tip youngster, I have to make point of keeping these for future reference. What's the gelcoat color of the MAS body?

 

[donsrods]

I just got back from my shop and I parked my T outside today while I was working so I could see how hot the body got in the sun. It was really warm today and the body stayed pretty cool. I guess it might be that fiberglass doesn't get as hot as a steel body in the sun?

It wasn't a scientific test, but did seem to indicate something. BTW, I've been washed too at strip joints, but it's usually my wallet that gets cleaned.:lol::lol::lol:

Don

 

[Youngster]

Craig...The MAS body is in black gel coat.

Don....You ol' waskle!

 

[donsrods]

Craig...The MAS body is in black gel coat.

Don....You ol' waskle!

I have to fess up. I took my T to the beach a few Sundays ago to shoot some pictures that a magazine guy wanted sent to him. As I pulled in the girl in the green bikini caught my eye, so after a while I walked over and asked her boyfriend if he would be offended if I asked her to take a couple of pictures with my car. He didn't so I did.

The car that inspired me to build this T the way I did was on the internet and was titled "desert car." I just liked the overall look of it, and swore when I got mine done I would find some pretty young thing to recreate the desert car picture.

Here is the one I am talking about.

Don

 

[Youngster]

Don...I think you did what you set out to do. IMHO...you surpassed your goal.

I fell hard for Bo Jones' modified the first time I saw it in R&C years ago. Then recently, I came across Dale Klee's rendering in his "Old School" print ( see my avatar ). I just hope I can do them both justice.

Ron